The
book of Ruth tells part of the life history of an Israelite lady
Naomi and her daughter-in-law Ruth and to me illustrates
wonderfully the love of God working by grace through faith.

The
story starts with there being a famine in the land of Israel. As
a result of this one man, Elimelech, decided to move out of the
country and go to Moab to live, as conditions were better in that
land. This is often the way people think when things go wrong.
They act like orphans who have no parents to help them and they
act for themselves without consulting God.

I
should mention that Israelites were not supposed to mingle with
the people of Moab because when the Israelites were coming out of
Egypt the people of Moab made them travel unnecessarily long on
their journey. In fact if a man married a Moabite wife the
offspring were not to be considered full Israelites until the
third generation.

Anyway
the family all travelled to Moab, Elimelech, Naomi his wife and
their two sons in hope of a better life. The two sons married
Moabite women and the family settled down. Unfortunately, Naomi's
husband and both of her sons died, so she decided to go back to
her homeland in Israel. When she was leaving, Ruth, one of her
daughters-in-law refused to stay in Moab but clung to Naomi and
the God of Israel.

Ruth
had developed a close personal relationship with Jehovah and love
for Naomi, as we can see from her statement in Ruth, chapter 1,
verses 16-18.

Rut
1:16-18 But Ruth replied, “Don’t urge me to leave you
or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you
stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my
God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May
the LORD deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death
separates you and me.”

When
Naomi realized that Ruth was determined to go with her, she
stopped urging her.

As
you might expect when so much trauma befalls a family, Naomi
would sometimes consider what had become of her life. At those
time she thought that her life was bitter but God had a plan to
redeem her life and that of Ruth and he was drawing them back to
Israel to fulfil that plan.

When
they returned to Israel, Ruth went about providing for both Naomi
and herself. As it was a season for reaping Ruth went into the
fields and followed the reapers, gleaning what was left on the
stalks to provide food for them. The law of reaping was that one
should not take every last bit of the produce of the land but
should leave the edges of the field undone so the poor could come
and take to feed themselves.

Ruth
was diligent and loyal and faithful to Naomi and God and unknown
to her she worked in the fields of a kinsman/relative of Naomi's
husband named Boaz. He was impressed by the loyalty and faith of
Ruth and decided to look after her by giving her favour with his
farm workers. He told them to leave extra grain in her path for
her to get as she picked up any grain dropped by the reapers.

Seeing
how much grain Ruth was bringing home Naomi realized the Boaz
liked Ruth so she suggested that Ruth let him know that she was
also drawn to him. Later when Ruth showed that she was attracted
to him, he determines to redeem her for his wife.

Now
the law in Israel was that where a family had fallen on hard
times and had to sell their land a close relative could buy the
land to keep it in the clan. If the males of the family had died
without heirs then the one who redeemed the land would take the
spouse as his wife to bring up an heir for the dead relative.

What
Ruth did not realise was that another closer kinsman or relative
besides Boaz had a prior claim to redeem the land. As Boaz knew
this, he met with the other kinsman, with ten witnesses and asked
him if he was willing to redeem the land of Naomi. We can read of
this in Ruth Chapter 4:1-6.

Ruth
4:1-3 Now Boaz had gone up to the gate and sat down there. And
behold, the redeemer, of whom Boaz had spoken, came by. So Boaz
said, "Turn aside, friend; sit down here." And he
turned aside and sat down.

And he took ten men of the
elders of the city and said, "Sit down here." So they
sat down. Then he said to the redeemer, "Naomi, who has come
back from the country of Moab, is selling the parcel of land that
belonged to our relative Elimelech. So I thought I would tell you
of it and say, 'Buy it in the presence of those sitting here and
in the presence of the elders of my people.' If you will redeem
it, redeem it. But if you will not, tell me, that I may know, for
there is no one besides you to redeem it, and I come after you.
"And he said, "I will redeem it."

It
turned out that he was quite willing to pay for the land. Then
Boaz told him that when he bought the land he was also redeeming
Ruth the Moabitess and would have to marry her and bring up
children by her.

Ruth
4:4-6Then Boaz said, "The day you buy the field from the
hand of Naomi, you also acquire Ruth the Moabite, the widow of
the dead, in order to perpetuate the name of the dead in his
inheritance." Then the redeemer said, "I cannot redeem
it for myself, lest I impair my own inheritance. Take my right of
redemption yourself, for I cannot redeem it."

So, the other kinsman baulked! He wanted to have a perfect heritage.
To redeem Ruth and marry a Moabite would spoil his own lineage.
So because of this he offered Boaz the right to redeem Ruth.

The
path was clear for Boaz to redeem the land belonging to Naomi and
take Ruth as his wife. This he did and Ruth was the grand-mother
of King David.

This
is a picture of how Jesus gained the right to redeem us. He is
the ultimate kinsman redeemer of course who paid with his life so
that we all could be redeemed. Boaz is representative of Jesus
and his role in our salvation. Ruth is representative of us
individually and of the church as a whole, coming to Jesus
through faith. So Jesus and his covenant of grace stands as Boaz,
able and willing to redeem us though we are not pure or perfect.

There
was another kinsman who had a prior claim on Ruth. The kinsman
Boaz met in the gate with the ten witnesses. Many see these as
representing Moses and the Law. But, Moses and his Law covenant
cannot redeem us unless we are perfect; and there is none who is
righteous - no not one! As we are imperfect the Law Covenant can
only pass judgement and leave us to our fate. To accept
imperfection would be to "break" the righteousness of
the law!

The
Law can only accept perfection; Grace accepts us as we are and
teaches us to give up unrighteous things and become righteous
through faith in Jesus.

Tit
2:11-12 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for
all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly
passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives
in the present age,

Mic
6:8 He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the
LORD require of thee, but to do justly {live righteously; by
faith}, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?

Jesus
Christ our Lord is our perfect kinsman redeemer. God wants us to
listen to his voice, believe him and believe in him. God wants us
to put our trust in him and see his hand in our life for good.
God wants us to exercise the measure of faith that he has put in
us, by speaking in love and casting out fear and building up our
trust in him. Like Abraham we live by faith and like him, in our
case also - there is now no condemnation for those who are in
Christ Jesus. Though imperfect we are accepted in the beloved.

We
could boast that we can keep God's Law or tell others and
ourselves that we must keep the Law but when we fail, as with
Ruth, the law will not save us! And we know that we will fail
because the word says that, "None is righteous, no not one!"

Instead,
let us accept God's grace through accepting Jesus and allow the
Holy Spirit to lead us, guide us and bring us to the maturity and
stature of Jesus Christ; fully resting in the righteousness of
Jesus, not in our own works.

Note what Paul says in
the letter to the Romans...

Rom
14:17-18 for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but
righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. For he who
serves Christ in these things is well-pleasing to God, and
approved by men.

So,
seek righteousness. Not your own but God's righteousness. Like
your father Abraham, build faith in God and grow in grace. Your
faith will be counted as righteousness. You will be clothed in
Jesus' righteousness. Live by the spirit and you will be well
pleasing to God!

Heb
8:13 In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one
obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready
to vanish away.

Christians
today do not live by a law code (it's obsolete for us) but by
grace through faith, just like our spiritual father Abraham.
Remember, we have the Holy Spirit in us and grace teaches us to
say "NO" to all ungodly things; as Paul says in his
letter to Titus (Tit 2:11-12).

Tit
2:11-12 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for
all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly
passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives
in the present age,

Which
guide do you place your trust/faith in; The Law or The Holy
Spirit? Jesus rose and sent us Holy Spirit to be our guide. The
perfect helper.

Christians live under grace. We grow
in holiness as we appreciate God's goodness and undeserved
kindness towards us. And, it’s through grace and by faith
we live lives pleasing to God, for without faith it is impossible
to please him.

And
who knows what might happen because you give yourself to Christ.
Ruth gave herself to Boaz and the third generation from her was a
King David.

So
let’s put faith in our kinsman redeemer Jesus and let Him
bring us into the kingdom of God. Like Ruth we are not naturally
part of spiritual Israel but through our husband to be Jesus, we
become heirs to all that God has promised. And God has great
plans for us also like Ruth when we live by faith.